A variety of imperfect and/or inadequate techniques are available for the purpose of collecting fibers from clothing articles (textiles).
The success of any criminal investigation is often dependent upon the recovery of trace evidential material for subsequent analytical or comparative examinations or both. Textile fibers are one of the most common types of transfer evidence encountered in forensic science. Transfer of fibers occurs, according to Locard's Exchange Principle, Pounds, C. A. and Smalldon, K. W., "The Transfer of Fibres Between Clothing Materials During Simulated Contacts and their Persistence During Wear," Journal of the Forensic Science Society, Vol. 15. No. 1, January 1975, pp. 17-27 results when one textile article is contacted with another. The transferred-fibers are generally invisible to the naked eye. However, the collection and recovery of these transferred-fibers from the textile articles is an important aspect in cases involving fiber evidence.
Since the introduction of the vacuum sweeping technique by Kirk, P. L., Crime Investigation, Interscience Publishers, New York, 1953, pp. 100-108 and 629-635 in 1953, several methods, including shaking, brushing, scraping, and high and low adhesive tape lifting, have been reported for the collection of transferred-fibers from clothing articles. The collection efficiency and the associated limitations of each of these methods have been evaluated by Pounds, C. A., "The Recovery of Fibres from the Surface of Clothing Submitted for Forensic Examination," Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 2, April 1975, pp. 127-132.
The process of collection is followed by localization and separation of significant fibers. Many available techniques are capable of collecting fibers. However, the fiber recovery process is time-consuming, tedious, and often frustrating. Even the improved procedures such as the use of (1) adhesive rollings, described by Fong, W., in "Fiber Evidence: Laboratory Methods and Observations from Casework," Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 29, No. 1, January 1984, pp. 55-63 ; and (2) tape scanners, described by Grieve, M. C. and Garger, E. F., in "An Improved Method for Rapid and Accurate Scanning of Fibers on Tape," Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 26, No. 3, July 1981, pp. 560-563, have failed to gain popularity as a result of associated drawbacks including the loss of area specificity, Grieve, M. C., "Discussion of `Fiber Evidence: Laboratory Methods and Observations from Casework`," Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 29, No. 4, October 1984, pp. 955-956, with the rolling technique and the possibility of contamination of tape strips as has been pointed out by the developer of the technique, Grieve, M. C. and Garger, E. F., "An Improved Method for Rapid and Accurate Scanning of Fibers on Tape," Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 26, No. 3, July 1981, pp. 560-563, and others, Fong, W., "Author's Response to `Discussion of Fiber Evidence: Laboratory Methods and Observations from Casework`," Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 29, No. 4, October 1984, pp. 957-959. Accordingly, prior to this invention, a long felt need existed in the field of forensic science to develop an improved method for the collection of fibers in complex cases which is effective and rapid and has the ability to maintain area specificity.